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Is Cashless Nigeria, The Way Forward.

Nigeria has a vision of becoming one of the Top 20 World Economies by the year 2020. However, in more recent times it seemed as though it was a far reach with the plummeting Naira exchange rate and the country suffering from a ‘recession’ which has been labelled a “self-created recession”.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has re- introduced the Cashless Nigeria policy which was first introduced in Lagos in 2012, These new amendments to the policy have already started to make a positive impact on the Nigerian forex rate.

The policy on cash-based transactions stipulates a cash handling charge on cash withdrawals and deposits that exceed N500,000 for Individuals and N3,000,000 for corporate bodies. The policy on cash-based withdrawals in banks aim at reducing and NOT ELIMINATING the amount of physical cash circulating in the economy, and encourages more electronic-based transactions in order to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic growth. The circular published on the 23rd of February 2017 extended the Cashless Nigeria policy to all states across the country and should be in full effect across Nigeria by October 2017.

What are your thoughts on the Cashless Nigeria policy? Do you think it’s a positive move to end or at least reduce corruption? is it a good way for Nigeria to adopt a cashless system, reducing crime and increasing safety? Or do you think that it is too difficult for a country like Nigeria? I would love to hear back from you.